REVELATIONS FROM GALWAY this week that two clubs in the county bet on themselves this year has brought the issue of gambling and the GAA bubbling to the surface once again.
There are plans from the GAA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee to bring a motion to Annual Congress next year, whereby measures aimed at stopping players from betting on games and competitions they are involved in would be introduced.
Such measures would prove almost impossible to police, however, as former Galway hurler and addiction counsellor Justin Campbell has acknowledged.
“The player will walk into Paddy Power’s and put on the bet himself – who’s to stop it?
“Suppose you’re knocked out in the championship in an All-Ireland quarter-final, you can’t have a bet either because it’s still the competition you were involved in.
“I don’t know what the right way is but something needs to be done – an open debate needs to take place.
“You can make all the policies you like but if players don’t adhere to them, you’re in serious bother.”
During the summer, leading bookmakers Paddy Power and Boylesports moved to stop betting on underage GAA games.
But one former inter-county star has indicated to The42 that players at various levels involved in gambling on various sports is now a “massive crisis.”
“It’s the topic of conversation in many dressing rooms,” he said. “Lads reaching for phones after matches and training, to check if a team/horse/dog is after coming up trumps for them. Sad but true.”
But what’s the solution, if any?
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Stop advertising gambling that’s the main cause even when I came on this page it came with an ad for bet fair :-/ don’t ask stupid questions when yous are supporting these kind of ads
100% agree. Those orange betfair ads are such an eye sore since the arrived on this site.
Completely agree on the over advertisement of the industry. However not quite accurate to blame the site for the adverts you see. They’re targeted marketing meaning you’re seeing them because you fit a certain profile based on your cookies, browsing history. Has next to nothing to do with the people running the sites.
Agreed. A bit ridiculous that tobacco sponsorship is eradicated and alcohol sponsorship heavily monitored yet gambling firms have pretty much free rein. How many premier league clubs display online gambling companies as their title sponsor? Almost half I would reckon
If gambling adverts stop you can kiss good bye to live horse racing on normal tv..
Agreed I throw down the odd accumulator in the shop itself.. never create an online account cause your gonna have serious interrogation when getting a mortgage. Never seen a betting ad on these sites..
My God how amazing would that be!
No horse racing on tv that is!
I’ll bet you a tenner nothing will happen.
Two separate issues are being conflated here.
There is the question of whether players should be allowed bet on games they are playing in, and the question of what to do about the gambling crisis that involves many people who play GAA.
I have zero problem with players betting on themselves to win a game or a championship. It isn’t a secret that teams have been doing this for a while – Jim McGuinness mentioned that the Donegal panel backed themselves to win the All Ireland. If it provides extra motivation and lads can get a few euro for their efforts, then that is fine by me.
But betting on your team to lose is obviously different. If a player is found to have done that, they should get a serious ban, maybe even for life.
People might say allowing them to bet on themselves leaves the temptation of betting against themselves. Perhaps, but I think the idea that we should ban a positive thing to possibly prevent a negative thing is not a good basis to make a rule.
And, even if we ban players from betting on their own games, that will literally do nothing to resolve the issue of gambling, since players will still be free to bet on thousands of different sporting events every week.
If a player wants to bet for or against themselves I can’t see how they will be caught. It can be done so easily online or through a friends account. No point bringing in a rule that can’t in all credibility be inforced.